Two weeks ago I had to go to Berlin for an assignment – Berlin is such a beautiful city, but first you have to manage to get there! I preferred not to take the plane for the many “empty” waiting times, which really add up; so I opted for the train – to be more precise, for the “Sprinter” from Frankfurt to Berlin without any stops. Great, I thought, that enables me to read all the documents I was provided with beforehand, I can relax and have a good time. So much for the theory. In practice, my ICE moved rather slowly towards Berlin. At some point, the engine driver used the intercom to call for the head of the conductors’ team – eventually the train just stopped at the Goettingen train station (right in the middle of nowhere) due to a damaged mortice (whatever that is) , and we were all invited to leave the train and to wait for the next train to Berlin. Eventually, I arrived in Berlin, what a relief!
After a two-day conference I speed to the Berlin Main Station to catch the next ICE to go home. Quite a race it is, still, I manage to hop on the train. Great, I think, that saves one hour!!! Then I hear the engine driver’s voice on the intercom, requiring a reaction from the head of the conductors’ team. I have a strange premonition. And rightly so, for the train stops exactly after 10 minutes at Berlin Spandau. And – we have to leave the train, because of a…damaged motrice! Again, I spend an hour on the platform, waiting for the next ICE. This one to my great surprise makes it to my home country.
After all of that, I came down with a nasty cold. Small wonder…
